Even as we hear about the slow national recovery and stagnant unemployment, there is a bright spot – Central New Jersey. The Central New Jersey Economic Bulletin, released last month by the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, reports that the region outperformed both the state and the nation as a whole in key economic indicators in the third quarter.

While the national unemployment rate remained stagnant at 9.1% in the third quarter, Central New Jersey’s was around 8.5%, significantly better than the statewide figure of 9.2% in September. The average annual salary in the region, $55,000, is just below the statewide average of $56,000, and well above the national average of $40,000, according to the report.

Neither of these statistics are all that surprising, given the dominance of well-paying biotech jobs in the region, which certainly trump national averages – but are less affected by the Wall Street salaries that can skew averages in the northern part of the state.

Inflation, too, is better in Central New Jersey. While the nation saw inflation rise from 3.6% in July to 3.9% in September, and the state’s average rose from 3.1% to 3.6% in the same period, Central New Jersey’s rate remains around 3.0%. 

The report also says that commercial real estate is going in the right direction.

“Although progression is not taking huge strides, the US economy is moving in the right direction,” the report says. “And [Central New Jersey] continuously proves to be on the forefront of this movement.”